Ethio Plastic Free Week Challenge

Plastic: We use it literally every single day, and for a good reason. Plastic is an amazing innovation, but it comes at a high price. Once created, plastics ‘never’ biodegrade – it takes somewhere between 400 and 1,000 years for them to go away. And that is why we need to rethink how we use plastics in our everyday lives. 

The purpose of the Plastic Free Week is to create awareness around how much plastic we are in contact with every day and explore ways to avoid it. We hope you will think it is fun and that it will inspire other people to a more plastic free life.

All you need to know about Plastic Free Week

About:

SI and Sweden Alumni Networks all over the globe are taking part in SI’s Plastic Free Week Challenge (#PlasticFreeWeekSI | 18-24 October, 2021) engaging its members and the public to live a plastic free life for a week. After last year's successful challenge we are aiming for an even more extensive global challenge this year and we hope that you'll join in together with all the SI and Sweden Alumni Networks around the world!

The Plastic Free Week challenges you to not consume any disposable plastics for at least a week. It will hopefully result in participants realizing how much plastic we surround ourselves with on a daily basis. The activity will create awareness about the negative impacts which plastic has on the environment while also offering a fun way for alumni to network with each other.

Challenge Guidelines:

What is allowed during the Plastic Free Week:

• Food that you have purchased prior to the challenge (we don’t want anything to go to waste)
• Some products that literally are impossible to find without plastic wrapped around them (toilet paper might be one of them). Share in your forum if you come across such an item. Maybe someone else has found a solution?
• Hygienic products made of plastic that has an impact on your health (menstrual pads for example)

What is not allowed during the challenge:

• All single-use plastics (straws, cups, utensils, bottles, bags, boxes for takeout food)
• Food and other household products with plastic packaging
• Buying new things made out of plastic (toothbrush for example) OPTIONAL

The point is to avoid all single-use plastics at all costs!

Plastic Free Photo competition:

A selected 20 participants who have managed to complete the challenge by participating in the #PlasticFreeWeekSI and sending us an inspirational picture of your plastic free living will win a T-shirt to participate in the upcoming Great Ethiopian Run and Lunch Event afterwards on November 14, 2021. 

Join the Plastic Free Week Global Challenge 18-24 October together with the SI and Sweden alumni networks.

Just follow the instructions:

1. Take a daily picture or video of how you are reducing or stopping the consumption of single use plastics.
2. Upload the picture or video together with a description of it, your name and using the hashtag #PlasticFreeWeekSI to the competition telegram group: ESAN Plastic Free Week
3. Follow us on Telegram, Instagram and Facebook (links given below) where we will announce the winners.

The rules for this competition are as follows:

1. The image should be of high quality, preferably over 1mb in size.

2. Each image shall be accompanied with a caption (max 100 words) describing how what you are doing reduces the consumption of singe use plastics.

3. Include your name on the post.

4. No photo of children taken by anybody else but their parent are allowed.

5. Once sent to us, the Swedish Institute has the right to use all submitted images on its social media platforms and website.

Submission Deadline: October 25, 2021

Good luck!

Join the challenge! You can join as a network, with a group of friends or as an individual. ARE YOU IN? Use the hashtag #PlasticFreeWeekSI when posting pictures and videos.

Join #PlasticFreeWeekSI to make an impact tangible on global scale!